Our view: On historic preservation, Hayward just doesn’t get it

In a public letter Friday, when Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced his opposition to a moratorium on demolitions of historic buildings, what he really announced was that historic preservation just isn’t at the top of his priorities list.

He essentially argued for the status quo — just one month after the historic 1901 John Sunday House was demolished without going through the city’s established historic preservation review process. City councilman Brian Spencer has proposed a six-month moratorium on the demolition of buildings more than 100 years old. Spencer wants everyone to take a “time-out” to give city officials and the community the chance to reevaluate our processes and improve them if necessary.

It’s a move that makes a lot of sense for a city that just celebrated its 457th birthday.

Instead, Hayward lambasted citizens concerned about the recent trend of demolitions and the precedent set by the Sunday House saga. Pensacola “does not lack protections for structures that may possess historical or cultural significance,” he wrote, overlooking the fact that those protections don’t count for much when a developer simply uses the court system to sidestep them, as happened with the Sunday House.

The San Carlos Hotel was built in downtown Pensacola in 1910. Due to neglect and a lack of historic preservation efforts, the landmark was demolished in the 1990s. (UWF Historic Trust/Special to The Pulse)

We’re not surprised by Hayward’s position. As mayor of America’s first settlement, he has repeatedly demonstrated his preference for redevelopment over preservation. Hayward, it seems, is fundamentally unable to understand and comprehend the true value of historic preservation and the cultural and economic benefits it can bring to a community like Pensacola.

Hayward’s arguments — that historic preservation protections will stymie and stifle development — are irrational, ignorant, and unsupported by the facts. A 2010 study coauthored by University of Florida and Rutgers University scholars found that historic preservation activities in Florida generate an estimated annual economic impact of $6.6 billion, including more than $4 billion a year in heritage tourism spending.

Even if you ignore the holes in Pensacola’s existing processes, Hayward’s argument that the status quo is good enough is ridiculous. As Hayward pointed out, the city has five ostensibly protected historic districts; but they’re centered in historically white neighborhoods. Their boundaries largely ignore Pensacola’s historically African-American neighborhoods such as the Tanyard and Belmont-Devilliers, which are home to some of the oldest structures in Northwest Florida.

For two centuries before Jim Crow, Pensacola was known as a place where men and women of color built successful businesses, developed neighborhoods, and helped shape the city itself. Their contributions form a compelling and invaluable part of Pensacola’s historic fabric. Unfortunately, time and time again, those stories and those residents have been ignored and pushed out in the name of “progress.”

The John Sunday House, built in 1901 in Pensacola’s Tanyard neighborhood, was demolished in July. (UWF Historic Trust/Special to The Pulse)

These neighborhoods and their history don’t seem to matter to Hayward, who seems content to offer criticism and ghostwritten letters instead of solutions.

Maybe it’s because he’s spent too long in the bubble of City Hall, detached from the conversations being had in neighborhoods across Pensacola. Maybe he honestly believes Pensacola’s history will somehow survive even if dozens of unique historic structures are replaced with generic modern developments. Maybe he’s really just ignorant of the facts.

Either way, it’s clear that he just doesn’t get it. Pensacola’s mayor should be a champion for our city’s history, not an apologist for short-sighted developers.

Our view on this issue is clear: there is nothing more valuable to Pensacola than our history. Plenty of cities have vibrant downtowns and beautiful beaches. There’s only one that has those things and can call itself America’s first city. Pensacola has more heritage than any city in America, yet we continue to be outpaced by cities like Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans when it comes to heritage tourism.

It’s time for our leaders to recognize the potential — economic, cultural, and otherwise — of embracing and protecting Pensacola’s rich history. Preserve it, and they will come.

11 Responses

But weren’t those historical structures considered development when they were built? The college study cited does not factor the economic impact of new structures that might have been built on those historical sites ie…. highest and best use.
Sounds as if the editors have an obsession with old buildings at the expense of future growth

“But weren’t those historical structures considered development when they were built?”

Yes, absolutely. In most cases, they were also built on vacant land or to replace structures that had burnt down or through what’s known as “demolition by neglect,” which can be a civil and criminal offense in many jurisdictions of historic American cities.

“The college study cited does not factor the economic impact of new structures that might have been built on those historical sites ie…. highest and best use.”

While that is a thoroughly researched paper, that is a valid point. Research and data tends to disagree with most allegations that new development is cheaper or even more economically beneficial to a community. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Preservation does not necessarily equate to increased cost.

More often than not, preservation of historic structures costs less (even less with the combination of tax credits and grants), and and can incentivize more long-term investment within communities they are within.
On national average, if no demolition is required, a major rehabilitation will cost between 12% less and 9 % more than new construction.

Creating new development while protecting historically significant structures are not mutually exclusive.
It does, however, require strong leaders who have a first-rate vision, a smart plan and hard work.

Cities like Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans were flush with wealth early in their histories. Prestigious–and solidly built homes–were constructed and updated over the years. Yet all three have pockets of run-down squalor due to overly zealous historical societies and lack of developers flush with money to remodel, though hopefully over time those will be revived.
Pensacola has been a working class town, a military town. Not lots of cash throughout it’s history–and just modest structures (with few notable exceptions).

It seems Pensacola needs to focus on basic infrastructure for us regular folks –and bringing in cash flow to today’s market so that the luxury of salvaging historical buildings can be an ongoing legacy.

While I disagree with your use of the word “squalor” to describe impoverished inner-city areas, I’ll use it as an example to highlight our points made in this editorial.

Pensacola is much like the above referenced cities in how we came to be. Our stories are not unlike theirs. In the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, Pensacola was among the wealthiest towns on the Gulf Coast thanks to our lumber exports and geographical prominence on one of the most desired ports in the South. With this wealth, thousands of well-constructed homes were constructed within the city limits. If you were to visit 1920s Pensacola, you’d see a very similar scene when compared to those other historic port cities. While Charleston and New Orleans were the very first cities to enact preservation districts and legislation in the 1920s to protect their existing structures, we didn’t do so until the 1960s and 70s — and our preservation guidelines still remain second-rate while we’ve lost so many hundreds of structures that could have easily been saved through common sense planning.

Progressive and common sensical historical preservation reforms didn’t hamper cities like NOLA or Charleston — they allowed them to thrive. We should take lessons from successful cities to guide our own.

If we want to grow to place ourselves on the stage of great cities, we can’t just make preserving our history a “luxury,” it must be a necessity. We can do all these things through logical reform while maintaining and improving our infrastructure and quality of life.

If it costs twice as much to restore a historical structure than it does to demolish and rebuild……what then? I am all about saving what you can ~ I love the historical bldgs. but sometimes you do have to JUST LET GO and move on……..also consider what is the best function for each piece of property.

Thank you for your comments. We value all constructive feedback and civil discussion.

Regarding your points, research and data tends to disagree. Preservation does not necessarily equate to increased cost.

In fact, more often than not, preservation of historic structures costs less (even less with the combination of tax credits and grants), and and can incentivize more long-term investment within communities they are within.

On national average, if no demolition is required, a major rehabilitation will cost between 12% less and 9 % more than new construction.

Additionally, Life spans for new buildings are often 30-40 years vs. more than 100 years for most historic structures.

Wonderful story!!! Well written and researched. Living in the Belmont since the 90s, an unprotected historical neighborhood just west of downtown, we have watched nearly 50% of the historic homes leveled. These were built for the early workers in Pensacola and most are steong, simple, shotgun style like New Orleans. If you think about Magazine Street 10 years ago, then walk through this area of New Orleans today, it shows that longetivity in growth WILL bring tourist dollars to a once run-down area.

Look at Magazine Street in New Orleans. Ten years ago you would not have put it on the to-do list as a visitor. Now, with most of its historic buildings fully renovated, it has become the Rodeo Drive of the south with billions spent per year in their cute boutique stores and restaurants.